IT-related regulatory issues top the IT director's agenda
in the run-up to Christmas, judging from the range of conferences
and seminars on the topic.
The rapid increase in regulation and IT-related legislation is
placing a growing burden on IT managers. Understanding the
implications of new rules and their impact on the business is a
requirement for all IT managers wishing to be taken seriously at
board level, and for all users, whose jobs will be will be affected
by the new regulations to some degree.
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, which come
into force on 11 December, will have implications for e-marketing.
A one-day conference run by consultancy Privacy Laws and Business
on 11 December will address the core issues with expert
speakers.
The newly formed E-Business Regulatory Alliance, which monitors the
100+ items of European and UK e-business-related legislation, is
having its second meeting, on e-mails and risk later this
week.
The IBM Computer Users Association is holding a one-day seminar on
legal issues on 10 December, and, for the telecoms community, a key
meeting in this area is the European Competitive Telecommunications
Association's Fourth Annual Regulatory Conference in Brussels from
10-12 December.
The demands of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and its
forthcoming amendments will feature prominently in the British
Computer Society's International Conference on Assistive Technology
on 2-3 December in London.
For IT managers and users wishing to understand how their boards'
views on the coming year are shaping up, the Economist's "The World
in 2004" leadership forum, in London on 5 December, could provide
some ideas.